Chapter 359 Innocence
Princess Pingyuan was furious at the thought that her father, who had once doted on her, had never truly considered making her the crown princess.
Her sinister gaze swept over the officials in the hall, a chilling smile appearing on her face: "Since you insist on opposing me, today I will unleash a massacre and use your blood to pave the way for my supreme rule."
The officials all changed color, and some timid officials were so frightened that their legs trembled and tears streamed down their faces.
"Hahaha--"
Seeing this, Princess Pingyuan let out a wild laugh, but the next moment her smile vanished and she shouted sharply, "Take them to the Imperial Temple and kill them!"
When Princess Pingyuan was serious, not only were Chief Minister Pang and others shocked and furious, but even her trusted confidants, whom she had single-handedly helped to rise to power, were dumbfounded.
They looked at the woman on the dragon throne who was clearly not quite right in the head, and dared not step forward to ask her to reconsider. They could only watch helplessly as the private soldiers disguised as refugees escorted Chief Minister Pang and his ministers to the Imperial Temple.
Princess Pingyuan felt no pleasure, and coldly ordered the guard who came to report the news: "Gather men and search the entire city. Dig three feet into the ground and find him!"
"yes!"
The guard accepted the order and hurriedly left.
Princess Pingyuan sat on the dragon throne, her fingertips gently stroking the dragon patterns that symbolized imperial power, a smug yet mad smile playing on her lips.
Several trusted ministers dared to peek, but were immediately frightened by her eerie smile and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.
He's gone mad! His Highness has truly gone mad!
If Your Highness were to successfully ascend the throne as Empress today by killing Chief Minister Pang and his ministers, how would you possibly manage the Qing Dynasty's affairs in the short term?
The border is still at war, and countless people are dying every day. If those barbarians take advantage of the chaos to intensify their offensive, causing even more people to be displaced, does Your Highness have the ability to protect this beautiful land?
The ministers became increasingly uneasy as they thought about it. It was true that they enjoyed vying for power and profit, but they were not so foolish as to stand by and watch the country be destroyed.
Princess Pingyuan, unaware of her confidants' thoughts, pondered where Emperor Jinghe might have fled.
There was no antidote for the poison she secretly ordered to be administered, but she didn't expect the Imperial Hospital to be so capable, managing to keep him on his last breath.
Thinking of this, Princess Pingyuan was very displeased. Just as she was about to ask something, a man dressed as a refugee rushed in, his face ashen.
"It's terrible, Your Highness! A large army has stormed in! They've rescued those traitors who were being taken to the Imperial Temple. We are outnumbered and are already in a losing position. Your Highness, please come with us and escape this place!"
"What!"
Princess Pingyuan suddenly stood up, both shocked and furious: "The tens of thousands of troops in the camp outside the capital have been brought under control, so where did this large army come from out of nowhere?"
The camp outside Beijing had a total of 50,000 troops. Many years ago, she sent her own people in, and they rose through the ranks to become the second-in-command.
In this uprising, her people directly took control of the camp on the outskirts of Beijing.
I thought everything was foolproof, but...
You're all useless! You can't even handle this simple task!
When questioned by Princess Pingyuan, the man who came to them knew nothing, having no idea where the army that had surrounded them had come from.
Seeing that he couldn't speak, Princess Pingyuan suddenly turned extremely pale, as if she had thought of something: "Oh no, we've fallen into a trap!"
No wonder, no wonder everything went so smoothly after she decided to start the uprising, without any obstacles.
She thought it was destiny, that the heavens were helping her reclaim everything that was rightfully hers, but she never expected it to be a trap. She was caught in Zhao Chengzhuo's (Emperor Jinghe's) meticulous schemes from beginning to end.
No, she still has 50,000 troops in the suburbs of Beijing. She has not lost yet. Even if she fights to the bitter end, she will never admit defeat!
Hearing the increasingly loud shouts of battle outside, Princess Pingyuan took a deep breath: "Issue my order, command Sun Wu to lead the army to attack..."
Before he could finish speaking, a commotion of footsteps came from outside.
Princess Pingyuan sensed something was wrong and suddenly looked up. She immediately saw Emperor Jinghe walking in, surrounded by Chief Minister Pang and others.
Even though she had already suspected that everything was a scheme set up by Emperor Jinghe, Princess Pingyuan still couldn't help but break down when she saw him walk in unharmed: "Zhao Chengzhuo, it was all an act!"
Looking at the woman with a ferocious expression, who seemed ready to pounce on him and tear his flesh apart, Emperor Jinghe remained calm: "Imperial sister, surrender. For the sake of our past sibling relationship, I will spare your life."
"Spare my life? Hahahaha, what a fine way to spare my life! Zhao Chengzhuo, back then, without the Empress Dowager and me, how could a lowly wretch like you, without any family to rely on, have sat comfortably on the dragon throne?"
Princess Pingyuan seemed to have been greatly insulted; her expression became increasingly ferocious, and her voice turned hysterical.
"The result is that you raised a vicious wolf. All these years you have been secretly guarding against me, forcing me into this situation. How dare you mention the past sibling relationship?"
"If I had known this would happen, I would never have listened to my mother and supported you, this lowly child, to ascend the throne!"
Seeing her so blatantly insult the emperor, Chief Minister Pang and others were enraged and pointed at Princess Pingyuan, shouting angrily:
"His Majesty has reigned for twenty-nine years, managing countless affairs of state daily, working diligently to govern the country, and is revered by all the people. He is a wise ruler chosen by Heaven, how can you, a traitor, be allowed to frame and slander him!"
Princess Pingyuan gave a cold laugh: "If I had been the one sitting on the dragon throne back then, I could have done the same. I only regret that I wasn't decisive enough back then, which is why I've ended up in this state today!"
After his anger subsided, Chief Minister Pang's words were like a sharp sword, stabbing into Princess Pingyuan's heart: "You can't even properly raise your only bloodline, yet you still spout nonsense here. It's an absolute joke!"
Princess Pingyuan broke down again: "How dare you!"
Chief Minister Pang snorted and turned his head away, refusing to look at her directly.
If His Majesty is incompetent and tyrannical, and if the princes are utterly useless, he would not object to the Great Wei dynasty falling into the hands of a mere woman; ultimately, it would still be the Zhao family's domain.
Now that the world is united in its support and the people are living in peace and prosperity, she, as a royal princess with a fiefdom, not only failed to share the Emperor's burdens but also colluded with barbarians to invade the border and usurp the throne.
If someone who disregards the overall situation and the lives of ordinary people were to be placed on the throne, it would be a calamity for the entire Great Wei.
Otherwise, given the late emperor's favor and attention towards her, he would have directly taken her drunken jest as fact and paved the way for her, leaving no room for His Majesty to follow.
"You, you..."
Princess Pingyuan was deeply offended by the disdainful look in Chief Minister Pang's eyes, and wished she could rush down and tear him to pieces.
Seeing that she showed no remorse, Emperor Jinghe had nothing to say and raised his hand to order: "Take her down."
Soldiers immediately rushed up to detain Princess Pingyuan.
Princess Pingyuan showed no fear on her face and shouted sharply, "Get out!"
Having said that, she took out a scroll of imperial edict from her sleeve and looked at Emperor Jinghe with a smug expression: "The late emperor's last words are here, I am innocent!"
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